The Romantic Language of Flowers and Food
by Blondi89
Summary: “Listen Chouji, I know you’re a food-lover but you have to face it, people will never see food as anything more than something to eat...What if I proved you wrong?” InoXChouji three-shot.
1. Flower

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**The Romantic Language of Flowers and Food**

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Flowers.

They are mother's nature beauty. Blooming in the warmth of spring, they give life to this dull planet. Their intoxicating smell enthralls the mind and their bright colors triggers a child's smile. They are the most precious plant on this earth, because they do something others cannot. They speak a language that enchants and captivates the heart.

Flowers are a romantic language.

They can speak volumes of a person or a relationship if delivered in the right way. This is something Ino knows to be true. She has grown up with the philosophy all of her life. And helping run her family's flower shop she has learned all of the flowers dialects. No other substance on this earth could parlance the depth of meaning that a flower could.

So why is her teammate saying otherwise?

"I'm not saying flowers don't mean anything Ino, I just meant that food can mean as much as flowers."

The blue-eye beauty continued to rearrange the newly trimmed jonquils. She wanted to ignore the contradiction in her husky friend's statement but knew she could not.

"Chouji, food could never mean as much as flowers. They're on a whole other level. I mean, flowers go straight to the heart while food just goes straight to the stomach."

Food is a romantic language.

Made from loving hands, the time and energy spent to combine the delicious flavors speaks vastness. The aroma, the zest, the essence can rise a variety of emotions. It's the blend of spices that can comfort the soul and bring the peaceful feeling of completion. That's what Chouji believes. That's what Chouji _knows_.

"My mother always said that a stomach with no food is just an empty heart."

"She probably said that to get you to eat your vegetables."

Chouji eyed his friend behind the counter. Why was she being so difficult? Why did she_ always_ have to be so difficult?

"What about chocolates? Those are considered romantic."

"Not if you want to get fat it's not. Besides, some people are allergic to chocolate."

"People are allergic to flowers too."

"True, but you can always get artificial flowers. You can't eat artificial chocolate."

Why couldn't he understand? Food just didn't have the same kind of passionate meaning as flowers did. Food was sloppy, muddled and cluttered. A simple loving thought did not come to mind when you first glance at food.

"But real food does have real meaning."

Who would buy artificial food? That loses all its value, all it's worth, all its love.

"Listen Chouji, I know you're a food-lover but you have to face it, people will never see food as anything more than something to eat."

She knew that food meant a lot to her friend, she didn't understand _why_ it meant so much but he had to know it wasn't a universal feeling.

"And what about you Ino? Will you see it as nothing more than 'something to eat'?"

He usually didn't get into debates or have the feel to get into one, but the need to prove to Ino that he was right was overwhelming. He didn't understand why he had this burning desire just that he needed to heed it.

"Well, yes. I'm sorry Chouji, but food was made to eat not reveal the deeper meanings of one's self."

Despite her carefree nature, Ino always held firm beliefs. If she truly had faith in something there was _no _changing her mind.

"What if I proved you wrong?"

She had to laugh at that.

"Proved me wrong?"

"Yes. What if I proved you wrong?"

He didn't know why he was digging himself into a hole. He knew she could be as stubborn as mule. It would be difficult for him to sway her opinion, so why bother?

"And how would you go about that?"

The idea of someone trying to prove her viewpoint to be false was amusing. But she was intrigued. It wasn't like Chouji to alter someone; it made her curious why he would do so with her.

"We'll make a list."

"A list?"

"A list of everyone we know and what flower/food we think they are. If the food matches the people better than the flower meanings then you'll have to admit that I'm right."

"And if I'm right?"

"Then I'll admit that I'm wrong."

Blue and brown eyes studied each other carefully. The threat of their pride was on the line, they had to make sure that the competition could be matched.

"Deal."

One hand engulfed the other as both opponents sealed the deal with a firm handshake. Ino smiled to herself. She grew up in a flower shop, she knew everything that there is to know about the gorgeous plant. She had this. It was a sure thing.

Piece of cake.

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**Notice:** Hey guys! As you have read this is a three-chapter InoXChouji fic. The chaps are short but I wanted them divided this way. Hopefully you all like it so far, if not tell me if it's something I can fix. Go InoXChouji! :)

**Disclaimer: I'll post this once! I do NOT own Naruto. Neither Ino or Chouji get enough air time.**


	2. Food

It was Friday.

The ending of the week and the start of the weekend. A joyful occasion to those who dread their work lives.

People loved this day.

It was like a weekly holiday. The majority of the population would drag themselves through the tortures of employment, getting through it with only the hope that Friday will soon approach and they will have that freedom they strive for. No matter how short-lived it was.

This fact was lost on Shikamaru.

To him Friday was a day. Nothing more, nothing less, it was just a day. He saw no reason why he should look forward to a day when it will end and the process of returning to work on Monday will take on shortly after. It was a waste of energy.

So, he would go to team ten's restaurant and eat with his best friend Chouji. Just like how he did last Tuesday, last Sunday and the Thursday before. The meetings were nothing special according to date and that was the way both Chouji and himself preferred.

It was five past six.

The usual time he would arrive at the eating establishment. The bell that rang when he opened the door had the same chime. The hostess that greeted him had that familiar smile. The artwork he viewed as he made his way to team ten's table was hung crooked as always. Everything was similar and well-known to him. Everything except what he was now witnessing.

There was a mountain of food, a delicious feast that was neatly arranged on a long table. Appetizers, meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, sweets all cooked, fried, grilled or boiled to perfection. It was made for a king. And this royal feast sat in front of his long-time friend.

And he wasn't eating any of it.

Briefly, dark eyes glanced out of the window. No, no apocalypse.

He would be worried, concerned at his friend's unusual behavior, but he had a fair idea on what was the causer to this bizarre scene. Taking steps forward, he felt himself grow tired. Love problems did not interest him.

"Chouji."

Said man took a break from writing on a small white notepad to look at who addressed him.

"Shikamaru."

He had been so engrossed in his research on the edibles of the world that his brain had lapsed. He had chosen this restaurant for more than one reason. A fragment of guilt got to him for forgetting about his friend.

"What are you doing?"

Upon closer inspection, Shikamaru could read hints of what was written on the pad of paper. Names, names that they know as well as a variety of foods were messily written. Despite his aloof appearance, he was curious about his friend's life.

"I made a bet with Ino."

It was a simple statement, but Chouji knew his friend would know the extent behind it.

"You do realize that's suicide."

The black-haired man felt himself smirk at Chouji's declaration. He knew for some time that his teammate harbored deep feelings for the bubbly blonde and there were no words needed for Chouji to know that he knew.

"Ino isn't that bad."

He always felt like a chiding mother when he scolded Shikamaru for poking fun at Ino. But his sense to protect his blue-eye friend was too strong. The Nara's smirk only grew wider as he took a seat. After a short, comfortable silence the genius spoke.

"So, you think you have a shot."

A large hand tightened its grip on a pen. Chouji studied the words below him wordlessly. That sentence was a double-edged sword. He could say this or that, but in the end life was never certain. There was only one truthful answer.

"I don't know."

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Emerald eyes glanced at the clock for the fifth time that night.

"What about this one Sakura?"

Sakura had to restrain herself from sighing. She had been critiquing Ino's "flower identities" for the last two hours. It didn't make sense to her why her friend was constantly asking for her advice when she kept repeating how Chouji could not beat her at her game. This opposing nature of Ino's was granting at her last nerve.

"Ino, what is going on?"

Clear blue eyes turned to her comrade in question.

"What do you mean?"

Taking a deep calming breath, Sakura readied herself for the fight she knew would come.

"We've already been through all the names, why do you keep going back?"

"I'm just rechecking my work."

"No, you're obsessing with it."

Immediately taking offence, the blonde felt the need to defend.

"I'm not obsessing!"

Sakura knew the screech was coming and it only provided her with more fuel to her suspicion.

"You are and I'm beginning to suspect something."

For some nameless reason, she felt like she was about to be accused of something she rather keep hidden. But Ino shook the feeling off, knowing that she had nothing to hide.

"What?"

"That this bet that you made with Chouji means a lot more to you than you want me to think."

"What are you talking about?"

"That you're doing this because you care what he thinks."

"What do you mean Sakura?"

The medic felt her jaw clench. She just wanted a straight answer damn it! But Ino was giving her that clueless act and it just made her want to shake the blonde so she would come straight out.

"That you _care _what he thinks."

Ino's normally beautiful feature screwed up in confusion. Just what was her friend implying?

"I care about what all my friends think."

Sakura finally felt her anger boil over.

"That's not what I meant Ino!"

She instantly recoiled from her friend's rage, but then let the words sink in. It was at that moment she felt clarity.

"Oh, no that's ridiculous Sakura!"

Coming slightly down from the adrenaline rush her anger gave her, she contemplated the words said to her.

"Why?"

Ino felt herself stumble over the next words.

"B-because it's Chouji, he's just so…so…well you know."

The pink-hair girl studied Ino. She was flustered, twitching and avoiding eye contact while faltering in her poor speech. It was then that Sakura realized that her earlier anger was misplaced. If Ino couldn't even admit her feelings to herself, then how could she reveal them to her best friend?

"Yeah I guess you're right."

Ino let out a breath she did not realize she was holding. She returned to her research, happy that Sakura let the issue go. It was a silly notion anyhow. Her and Chouji? Like _that_ would happen. Where does Sakura come up these things? Doesn't matter, she has more important things to concrete on like the bet.

If only her heart would stop beating so fast.

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**_Please review! :)_**


	3. Romance

_Implied NejiTen_

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"A huckleberry?! What in the world makes you think Shikamaru is a huckleberry?"

"Because, they look like any other blueberry but in reality are not. They provide good nutrition to a verity of animals in the wildlife and are a rare find."

The slim blonde beauty raised one of her delicately trimmed eyebrows as if to mock.

"A rare find, you think that Shikamaru is a rare find."

Ino did not mask the sarcasm in her statement. Sure Shikamaru was a great guy and a good shinobi, but a rare find? Come on.

"Fine then, why do you think Sakura is an iris?"

Chouji's internal call was to defend his reasoning for the huckleberry, but Ino never did think that Shikamaru was anything particularly special despite his uncommon intelligence. He would just have to prove her wrong with another.

"Well the iris can mean a number of things faith, hope, wisdom, all of which I believe represents her. But the biggest connection is that the iris represents the eternal promise of renewal, rebirth and the transformation from boredom to happiness."

Pink lips stretched into a satisfied smile as she gave herself a mental slap on the back. There was no doubt in her mind that her friend was an iris, her explanation gave a hundred percent guarantee on that.

"You think Sakura had been dull?"

Within the realms of his mind, Chouji agreed with the assessment presented before him. But he didn't want to go easy on Ino.

"What? No! I was just referring to how much she's changed over the years. Besides I'm not the one who called Neji a nut."

Dull?! Sure maybe she shouldn't have put her thoughts in those exact words, but he should know her better than to think that she would think her friends as boring.

"Boiled _pea_nut, I said he was a boiled peanut because of their hardened shell and difficult to crack exterior; that and they are good with sweet tea."

Oh Kami, maybe he shouldn't have named Neji that. If word got around saying he thought the stoic Hyuuga was a nut…he didn't want to know what the consequences would be.

"That's another thing you can't say that Tenten is sweet tea."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a beverage. Not food."

There was no way she was going to let him cut corners like that.

"Anything that is a substance that provides nutrients checks as food, but if you don't agree with me that's fine. I still don't see how Naruto is a gladiolus and not a sunflower."

In his book, it didn't matter what state of matter the material was in. If it went into the stomach, it was food.

"Gladiolus represents strength of character and had been known to be given to victorious Roman gladiators. That's way more romantic than saying he's an onion."

She tried to keep her cool down, but knew that it was only hanging on by a thread's chance. Her theories and calculations bore on more romantic appeal than that of her friend, it was obvious. It was cute how he continued to try, but he needed to face reality that she was beating him at this game.

"Onions can be romantic. They've been known to absorb negative energy and are a representation of protection and dreams."

He knew that she was stubborn. Knew that before they started this contest on the representation of love and he also knew she would always be stubborn. But a part of him had hoped (and still did) that she would open her mind and apprehend that he was right as well. That everyone had their own way to communicate and the differences in their speech made them beautiful. But, he was realizing that insight might forever be lost to his dear friend.

"Chouji it was a good try. Seriously you did a lot better than I expected, but I'm still not convinced that food is romantic like flowers. Sorry."

Her legs were stiff, back rigged and arms crossed to show that her decision was final. But her blue eyes shone empathy. Just because she won didn't mean she wanted to be smug about it. No, not to Chouji.

"What did you have picked for me?"

"What?"

"What flower did you have to represent me?"

For a split second, he was going to sigh and call defeat when his teammate announced that she still was not swayed. But then…he remembered they still had not revealed what they thought the other was in terms of flowers and food. It might have been pointless to an onlooker because she had already won in numbers. What would one change? But to him he only needed one to alter her mind.

"Well I thought you were a lisianthus."

She thought it was odd how he was still going on about this, but figured it was more out of curiosity. She herself wondered what type of food her friend had classified her.

"Lisianthus?"

The word felt foreign on his tongue. After coming to visit Ino at her family's cozy flower shop for so many years he was able to paint a picture in his head of all the names of flowers she spoke of, except for this one. She must have detected his ignorance for she pointed to a set of flowers behind him. Following the direction of her delicate finger he saw a collection of purple and lavender flowers. The colored petals looked soft to touch and their wide, ruffled nature tended to take up their neighbor's space.

"They look like roses."

"Only in their double-form, in their single-form they look more like tulips. They tend to have a long vase life."

Blue eyes scanned the hefty man carefully. She didn't understand why, but she was eager to see his reaction.

"What do they mean?"

"Appreciation and a calming presence, also they communicate when given that the person has a good and friendly personality."

He couldn't help but stare at the beautiful flowers consisting of different hues of purple. Appreciation, good personality… those words seemed to inflate his heart. If there was an ever a day he believed that Ino put their friendship on high regards, it was today. Warmth spread throughout his body.

"Thank you."

The smile on his lips, the twinkle in his brown eyes, the gratitude in his baritone voice, it made her feel flustered in a way. She didn't reveal her softer side often, but had felt safe enough to do so in his presence. But she wanted to get rid of this sudden uncomfortable yet pleasant feeling.

"What about me? What food am I?"

"Barbeque."

He had to stop the smile of amusement when he saw the twitch in her eye.

"_Barbeque_?! You're saying that I'm grilled pork!"

How dare he say such a thing! And even after she said those things to him!

"No Ino, I'm saying that you're _Korean _barbeque."

Barbeque was a good, hearty and well-liked meal. It was hard to grill because if it spent too much time above the hot coals the meat would turn to a black crisp that would leave the awful taste of charcoal on your tongue. Grilled too little and the meat would be toxic to your health due to its rawness. But grilled precisely and it was simply delicious.

There are also many forms of barbeque, all of which have their own unique style. He has tried them all and has given his own stamp of approval to each mouth-watering piece. But out of all kinds of barbeque there was one he liked best. One he found better than others. And it was common knowledge among his friends that Korean barbeque was his all-time favorite food.

Korean barbeque _is_ his favorite.

That's why he named Ino as so. That's why comprehension grasped her features when he specified what kind of barbeque. That's why he smiled when an uncharacteristic blush adored her cheeks.

"Oh, I see."

She felt it when her cheeks burned. It felt weird for them to do so when anger was not the cause and that just made her cheeks pinker from embarrassment. She felt further mortified when she felt a dorky smile tug at her lips from being named favorite. Since when did she get overly mushy from a compliment?

"So, you still feel that flowers are the only thing romantic?"

He wasn't sure what kind of answer he would get. With Ino everything was unpredictable. But that's why she was his favorite and that in his heart he knew, he won.

Pink lips upturned strangely and dazzlingly blue eyes fixed on him with glassed over emotion.

"We can call it a tie."

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**The End**

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**A/N:** Hope everyone enjoyed the final chapter. :)

I tried to pair up the best I could based on the research I did, hopefully you agree.


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